| Founded | 1972; 53 years ago (1972) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Gilbert Guzzo |
| Headquarters | Aïn Sebaâ,, Morocco |
| Brands | CANAM |
| Website | automobiles-menara |
TheSociété Automobiles Ménara is aMoroccan automobile manufacturer and was founded in 1972 under the brand nameCANAM. The company is located inAïn Sebaâ,Casablanca.
CANAM was founded by theelectricianGilbert Guzzo who had persuaded the formerCEO ofTexaco to build him aservice station and agarage to serve the local Moroccan market. Besides the sale of fuels the company had builtcaravans andtrailer under his CANAM brand name. Later they had manufacturedspeed boats andamusement rides. Another activity was also thereal estate business with new buildings and the construction of special machines.
In 1993, the company stopped the production of their obsolete products and changed their name into Société Automobiles Ménara. They began to build unique vehicles, especially replicas. The first product was a replica of the 1913Peugeot Bébé. The command to do this came from theestate of his MajestyKing Hassan II. For this project they moved to a company area with larger premises. So they decided to move to a vacant factory site near their former location. Currently, the company's building covers an area of 10,000 square meters. The Bébé replica got the official model nameCANAM Ménara. Next replicas of the manufacturer were a 1912Buick Model 35, a 1908De Dion-Bouton Landaulet, a 1917Buick 45 Touring and a 1928Citroën 5CV Trèfle. The units are all 1:1 copies.
Ménara is active as a restorer of old passenger cars too. Henceforth, they got orders from the Moroccan royal family to restore an oldFord Model C and a 1934Chrysler CB.
In 2001 they have found an idea to assemble an own vehicle model like in the heydays of CANAM. A year later, Ménara had launched their retro-styledMénara WSC 2002roadster. The vehicle is built inHandicraft and includes all equipment ordered by the customer. The WSC 2002 is a two-seater model which is especially popular forambassadors. The WSC 2002 is available with a 4-cylindergasoline engine thas is having a capacity of 1998 ccm. It has a power of 88kW and enables atop speed of 160 km/h. Therotations per minute are at 5,500. All used materials are from Morocco. Currently, the Ménara vehicles are mainly distributed in countries ofNorthern Africa, with North American showrooms inNew York City andToronto who sell the Ménara model.
Société Automobiles Ménara participates in racing as well. The company provides own racing teams for various car manufacturers likeFerrari,Fiat,Kia Motors andMaserati. The manufacturer is also organizing their own racing events under theAutomobiles Ménara Compétition guise, while also being active as a general importer for those particular brands. Currently, about 100 workers are employed by Société Automobiles Ménara.
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